In 2006 I moved to Qatar and things are not what many people in North America would expect - it is not like how the Middle East is portrayed in the media. I'm also a fan of skepticism and science so wondered how this works here in Qatar. Since I'm here for a while I figured I'd use the time to get to know this country better and with this blog you can learn along with me. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - So what posts have been popular recently . . .

Monday, February 22, 2016

Qatar Total Open

The ladies tennis tournament, the Qatar Total Open, has started, and I was fortunate enough to get an invite from a friend for the first day. It was VIP tickets, something I've never had before, so I figured that meant we had box seats somewhere.

When we arrived he asked if I wanted something to eat first as there was a buffet. A buffet!? So we went into the VIP area behind the stadium and sure enough there was a huge buffet hosted by the Four Seasons Hotel, with sushi and a wide array of other foods, along with tons of wait staff and a jazz band.

Here's a reenactment of my expression:

(only more handsome and with a goatee)

Luckily there were lots of TVs so we could also see the tennis while we had something to eat. And who did I see playing a match? Eugenie Bouchard, Canada's top ladies tennis player! That was awesome, I knew that Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova both had to cancel coming to the tournament so I was a bit worried that there wouldn't be anyone there I'd root for.

Eugenie had a rough match and I watched with apprehension as she went down 0-4 in the third set. Amazingly she managed to claw it back to serve, had some nail-biting moments saving TWO match points, then went on to win the match. Geez, could that get any closer?

We also met up with an Indian friend who was hoping to see Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza play doubles but unfortunately she wasn't playing that day. We chatted about the impact she has had in India being one of the few tennis stars from that country. I recall in 2006 seeing her play at the Asian Games here in Doha and how there was a huge crowd of Indians there just to watch her.

Anyway here's hoping I'll go see some more matches (doesn't have to be VIP, I'm not choosy).